This is not a story about communication

One of the most famous paintings by the French surrealist Rene Magritte is a picture of a pipe with the words Ceci n'est pas une pipe or This is not a pipe under it. His point is that the picture is merely an image of a pipe, and not the pipe itself. In today's New York Times is an article that is not about communication, but the article illustrates a number of points that are critical to understanding how to communicate effectively. The article is about the creation of a National Museum of African-American History and Culture as part of the Smithsonian Institution, but the author touches on key goals of good communication, including:

• understanding your target audience
• building credibility
• presenting facts in an unbiased way
• using positive characterization
• reading non-verbal cues

The author uses examples to show how good communication is critical to the success of this complex project, scheduled to open in 2015.